Hi, I'm in the market for a 535d sport. I am looking to spend up to 13k and was wondering if current/previous owners could point out things to look for before purchasing. I will be putting warranty on it, but any pointers would be .well received.

I have a 535D (Lci) The main issue was failed thermostats. I would check the engine coolant temp reaches above 88c, very common fault. If you do a search I'm sure you will come with a few other things, like vac hoses on the turbos perishing, gearbox slamming. On the touring, boot filling up with water if you also have the panoramic roof and the compressor hose for the air suspension failing. Also water ingress into the rear window micro switch can cause boot to open and other weird faults. Wiring near the hinge, touring again, known to cause problems. Water ingress into the rear spoiler aerial , touring again, also causes weird faults. So I would make sure all electrics work!

Suppose sounds bad but it's not. Overall it's a truly great car. Life cycle impulse is best IMO

2) at the same time replace the vortex style crankcase breather (also called oil separator) these shouldn't clog but are so cheap .

3) Replace the run flat three with normal tyres - brilliant improvement

4) Replace coolant, main and EGR thermostat. These regularly fail causing cooler running, detrimental to diesels economy but more importantly the DPF which will clog up with soot and fail

5) remove the 'sure clog' valves in the rear wheel arches. These block up with clag and can cause water to back up filling the bootspace with water, killing very important i drive/PDC modules. There is also a fairly simple relocating process for this to avoid problems.

The engine block, head and turbos seem to be reliable. The sequential turbo doesn't use Variable vanes and is controlled by several vacuum actuators. Failing Boost/vacuum hoses are quite common which can cause a heart in throat moment and you may lose all boost but can be visually spotted and can be a simple fix.

If you go for the touring there is the addition of the self levelling suspension. This has an air compressor behind the ROS wheel. Listen for a laboured pumping sound on start up. If it can repeatedly be heard or the back of the car drops once the ignition is off then you may have a leak. For info I probably hear mine in operation once every few months hinting at mine is currently still air tight.There was an update for the air hose that feeds the compressor to change it from a weaker rubber pipe to a shrouded one that should be tougher. When I've inspected mine it was replaced with the updated on in 2007.You can find out if u have the earlier or later version with an inspection panel behind the ROS wheel which is easily

I think you'll struggle to get a LCI with your budget unless you get a leggy one.

These have a 'lifetime DPF' but don't believe that for a Second. Hot running with 'stats in good shape will help but it's no guarantee.

I have a 535d M sport touring, owned since 2 years old (2005 model). It had 17k miles when I bought it, and now has 70k miles about six years later. The car is great to drive, handles well. Hard wearing overall. I've only had two problems: the computer brain died, but was replaced free out of warranty (I paid labour only), and one of the tailgate gas struts failed and was replaced. A few thoughts:

- check the front spoiler and make sure the whole bumper assembly has even gaps against the metal panels. These spoilers are quite low and easy to catch on kerbs when parking front-end-to. I've pulled mine off twice, reversing off a kerb without realising it was caught, so I now reverse park against taller kerbs. These bumpers are expensive to replace.- the steering wheel trim on the underside of steering wheel spokes on mine has worn off the plastic coating which is peeling off; ive noticed that newer models have metal panels presumably to overcome this.-leather seats seem to wear well and clean up well (mine is tan leather, which gets grubby after time (I have 2 young kids), but it always cleans up nice- reading the other replies to your post, I'm now worried the air suspension may need attention, I hear hissing sounds regularly after parking up... So check this when you test drive (warranty will sort it in your case if this happens, presumably)

MPG I get is about 29. I live in Portsmouth, and drive a lot of motorway miles. We lived in London up to 9 months ago, and MPG then was about 27. I don't drive like a lunatic, but also drive quite quickly, so you should see this sort of mpg.

I have a 335d, listen to the advice about engine coolant and thermostats, if they are not operating properly your DPF will clog and fail, I learnt the hard way at 60K miles!

Ian

Changed both stats on my LCI 525d at the weekend (same engine essentially), mines a manual E61 and wasn't getting over 81deg.

Ideally you want to get to the hidden OBC menu to check the temps on a test drive, should get up to 90-95 deg C. If not then either the EGR or Main Stat could be goosed.

They cost about £80 for the pair of stats from BMW plus another 20 or so quid for coolant (I lost about 5litres doing mine). Surprisingly easy to DIY despite some of the online guides making it sound trickier than it actually is.

Once you get one get it remapped, emaps did my old one for a few hundred pounds.Gives it a hell of a lot more oomph and virtually no difference to mpg.

I have a E90 330D with an Emap and it transforms the car, when pushing on. Roughly 6-8% better fuel economy when being careful with the right foot too. Great all round car and the added bonus of excellent fuel economy on a long run! I can get almost 600 miles on a full tank of diesel.

Once you get one get it remapped, emaps did my old one for a few hundred pounds.Gives it a hell of a lot more oomph and virtually no difference to mpg.

I have a E90 330D with an Emap and it transforms the car, when pushing on. Roughly 6-8% better fuel economy when being careful with the right foot too. Great all round car and the added bonus of excellent fuel economy on a long run! I can get almost 600 miles on a full tank of diesel.

I've just been in contact with E-Maps about mine. Can get it up to 250bhp/500odd NM for £299 inc VAT.

It's a fair old wedge this near christmas though They discount a bit if doing more than one car at a time.

I would say be careful, condition is everything. You plan to buy at the lower end of the market (£13k ish pre LCI) then remap – that is potentially asking for trouble. They are good cars as standard, fast, fairly economical on runs etc, and no doubt even better to drive remapped. But they are also very complicated and expensive cars (£40k plus new) and an older one, with the extra stress of a remap, is asking for trouble IMHO. And I would also be surprised if you can find a warranty worth having (assuming you declare remap) for a fair price…